Wilfried Bony out to keep making Newcastle pay for snubbing him

WILFRIED Bony hopes he can hit the ground running at Manchester City by continuing his fine scoring record against Newcastle this weekend.

The striker joined the Premier League champions from Swansea a month ago but only linked up with his new team-mates this week after helping Ivory Coast win the African Nations Cup.

He admits it could take time for City fans to see the best of him but Newcastle won’t relish coming up against a player who has scored three times in two previous Premier League games against them.

The Magpies, ironically, were close to signing Bony before he joined Swansea, only to baulk at the £12m fee.

Bony, who netted 34 times in 70 appearances for Swansea, said: “It feels like a while since I signed the contract but finally I’m here, I’m really happy about that and now I’m just focusing on this Saturday’s game.

“For me, it was really important to make this decision for my career and my life and I’m very happy to be a City player. I have spoken to my new team-mates and they have welcomed me to the club and I’m already feeling at home.

“It’s not easy because I’ve just arrived from Africa and I will have had five days of training before we play Newcastle. I have to take it step by step and wait for the right opportunity to present itself.

“If I am needed, I have a good record against Newcastle – I’ve scored three goals in two games against them.

“They are a good side and are strong at the back but they are coming to our stadium and we need to win this game. Four days later we’ll be playing Barcelona and we need to go into that game on the back of a strong performance.”